This is a Japanese song based on the Tortoise and the Hare story. Can someone help me with this line?
歩みの呪い ものはない
The first half is something like… the curse of walking (slowly)? The second half is really the troubling part. ものはない means literally ‘not a thing,’ or there’s ‘no thing’?
Translations of this sentence tend to be: “Why are you so slow!” which is really not helping me out.
Any help? Listen to the line in context here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lzf5ABMscc
Maybe it’s 鈍い?
Combining it with the line before it:
世界のうちで お前ほど 歩みの鈍い ものはない There’s nothing as slow as you in the world.
Yeah, 鈍い makes more sense than 呪い
Actually, I’m really not sure about the kanji for 呪い. The song is always transliterated in hiragana, so when I used rikaikun to check the meaning of のろい, it suggested 呪い, which is maybe why I’m so confused!
The other part that troubled me: I didn’t consider ものはない as being related to お前ほど. I’m starting to get a sense of the sentence now…
Well, considering that 呪いもの is ungrammatical and 鈍いもの is grammatical and makes sense, I don’t think there’s much doubt there.
Thanks for your input. 鈍い and 呪い are both new words for me. In any case, this sentence in hiragana put into Google is rendered as ‘curse.’
Yes, のろい can mean curse as the nominalized stem of 呪う, to curse. It also means slow, as an い adjective.
From what’s already been said, it seems that the correct kanji-fied line is:
歩み鈍いものはない
which is actually a contuation of the line before it–together they would be:
せかいのうちに おまえほど
In the world, as much as you,
あゆみの のろい ものはない
walking-slowly-thing is not.
Or, “Nothing in the world walks as slowly as you.”
It’s actually the next line,
どうして そんなに のろいのか
that translates as “Why are you so slow?”
「もしもし かめよ かめさんよ
"Hey, tortoise, Mr. Tortoise,
せかいのうちに おまえほど
in the world, as much as you,
あゆみの のろい ものはない
nothing walks as slowly
どうして そんなに のろいのか」
Why are you so slow?"
「なんと おっしゃる うさぎさん
"If you say so, Mr. Rabbit,
そんなら おまえと かけくらべ
then I will race you
むこうの 小山(こやま)の ふもとまで
to the foot of the mountain over there
どちらが さきに かけつくか」
which one will arrive first?"
「どんなに かめが いそいでも
"No matter how much the tortoise hurries
どうせ ばんまで かかるだろう
In any case, until evening it will definitely take.
ここらで ちょっと ひとねむり
I’ll nap here for a while.
グーグーグーグー グーグー
Snore, snore, snore."
「これは ねすぎた しくじった」
“What is this, slept too much, screwed up,
ピョンピョンピョンピョン
ピョンピョンピョン
Hop, hop, hop.”
「あんまり おそい うさぎさん
"Too slow, Mr. Rabbit,
さっきの じまんは どうしたの」
The boasting from a little wile ago, what’s wrong/what about it?
Excellent!
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